July 19th, the height of summer.
Liu Chen packed everything in the dormitory into the off-campus apartment. He also asked Mi Zhuzhu, Lai Jielun, Ren Mo, and Sang Ling to move their belongings into the apartment to avoid repeated trips. They could come back a few days before the end of the summer vacation to sort things out and then move directly into the school dormitory.
Today was the last day of the semester at Shuimu University. Since all the dormitory items were packed, Liu Chen's hands were empty, carrying no suitcases, only a laptop bag.
He couldn't leave his laptop behind, as it contained QQ chat records and many of his work assignments.
Although it seemed like only Liu Chen, Ren Yu, Xia Tian, and Dong Tian were returning to C City, Liu Chen had already spotted two familiar faces in first class.
Captain Lei, as the action captain of the National Security Agency, naturally wouldn't be his secret protection, but Liu Chen trusted that anything from the National Security Agency was top-notch.
Ren Yu sat next to Liu Chen, leaning over to buckle his seatbelt. Then, she turned slightly and asked with curiosity:
"That kid Ren Mo has been so secretive lately. When I asked him if he was returning to C City, he said he was busy. Do you know what he's so busy with?"
Liu Chen turned his face and smiled at Ren Yu:
"Want to know? Beg me?"
Ren Yu's expression froze slightly when she heard Liu Chen's words. Then, she leaned her mouth close to Liu Chen's ear and whispered in a low voice, her breath tickling as she spoke:
"Please."
For some reason, although Liu Chen clearly heard Ren Yu say "please," and logically he should have been the victor, his ears felt scorching hot and itchy, as if he had frostbite in winter.
Liu Chen couldn't help but shrink his neck, widening his eyes as if he were fierce:
"Just talk, why are you breathing on me!"
Seeing Liu Chen's reaction, Ren Yu blinked:
"I wasn't breathing on you. My breath just comes out when I talk?"
Liu Chen looked at Ren Yu's earnest face and pursed his lips. Was it really his problem?
Just as he thought this, Liu Chen caught the smile on Ren Yu's face and immediately understood. Ren Yu was doing it on purpose!
He, he deliberately blew hot air towards his nose!
Understanding this, Liu Chen crossed his arms in front of his chest and turned his head to look towards the aisle, indicating he had no intention of talking to Ren Yu.
Seeing Liu Chen's posture, Ren Yu realized she had probably been caught smirking. She turned her head back and said to Liu Chen in a serious tone:
"Wife, I was wrong."
As soon as she said this, Liu Chen immediately turned his head and glared at Ren Yu fiercely:
"Who's your wife? Why are you taking advantage of me?"
Although Liu Chen was scolding, his tone was like a spoiled child, more like a kitten pretending to be fierce to scare others.
After they playfully bickered for a while, the plane took off, and Liu Chen finally remembered Ren Yu's earlier question.
"Ren Mo is staying in Beijing to arrange for the bloggers signed by his company. He plans to cultivate a batch of professional bloggers. Sang Ling is staying in Beijing mainly to help. Ren Mo has given Sang Ling some shares, and Sang Ling can provide technical optimization."
In fact, when Ren Mo did this, Liu Chen felt it wasn't quite right, not because Sang Ling was taking advantage or that Ren Mo's direction was wrong.
Mainly, when it came to relationships between men and women, it was best for their careers to be separate. Once they were intertwined, disagreements in career and disagreements in feelings would combine, and it would basically lead to arguments.
However, Liu Chen knew one thing: friends are friends, and when it comes to a friend's relationship, it's best to let nature take its course and not interfere, otherwise, they might not even be friends anymore.
As expected, Ren Yu frowned slightly after hearing this and then said:
"Sang Ling can establish her own technical support company, providing blogger content optimization services, connecting with Ren Mo's company, and also connecting with other operating companies."
Hearing this, Liu Chen couldn't help but nod in affirmation.
"Ren Yu, your idea is good. Perhaps after we land, you can mention it to Ren Mo. Of course, if he's not willing, it's fine."
Ren Yu nodded, indicating she understood.
"But this summer vacation, although it's only been a year since we graduated from high school, everyone has their own things to be busy with. It feels a bit strange."
Liu Chen said, and then began to list:
"Look, Ren Mo and Sang Ling met last year and are starting a company together. As soon as Lai Jielun and Mi Zhuzhu had their break, they flew to Hengdian. 'The Legend of Zhen Huan' started filming a while ago, and they're going to join the crew."
"Even my cousin Jiang Di has gotten his teaching qualification certificate. My mom told me he's already found a school for his internship and is currently teaching at a cram school during the summer vacation."
Suddenly, everyone seemed to have rapidly grown up and started busy careers. Traveling to Sanya in a large group like last summer had become a very difficult thing.
Ren Yu looked at the hint of melancholy on Liu Chen's face and lowered her eyelids:
"What are your plans for returning to C City this time?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Chen's recent sentimentality instantly dissipated.
"Hehe, I'm going to announce on Weibo tonight that our products will be launched in supermarkets in Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen!"
Ren Yu raised an eyebrow:
"I don't recall you having contacted any chain supermarket merchants in these three cities."
"Hehe, you don't understand. We need to create a buzz so that the distributors in these three cities will come to find me. As the saying goes, chasing after someone to buy isn't a business. I want the distributors in these three cities to come to me!"
As Liu Chen said this, a cunning look flashed in his eyes, and a proud smile graced his face, as if to say, "Praise me quickly, aren't I amazing!"
Seeing Liu Chen's expression, Ren Yu felt... her hands itched. She couldn't help but raise her hand and cover Liu Chen's eyes.
While they were talking, the world suddenly went dark. Liu Chen was startled and asked in a slightly flustered tone:
"Hey! What are you doing? You..."
Before he could finish speaking, Liu Chen's mouth was covered.
One minute later, Liu Chen's entire face was flushed, his eyes were misty, and he looked like he had been wronged and was about to cry.
Ren Yu closed her eyes, hiding the bottomless desire that seemed to be reflected in her pupils.
After Liu Chen regained his breath and turned his head to say something, the plane suddenly jolted, and the entire aircraft dropped. Liu Chen felt a rapid loss of altitude, and his heart rate accelerated.
Just as Liu Chen clenched his back teeth, Ren Yu grabbed his right hand, which was clutching the armrest. Ren Yu's palm covered Liu Chen's hand, and their fingers intertwined.
The cabin lights, which had been turned off for smooth flight, and the lowered window shades, turned the entire cabin into a dim, enclosed space.
The passengers, who had fallen asleep, were jolted awake by the sudden descent.
A broadcast then came from the cabin.
'Due to turbulence, please remain seated and fastened your seatbelts. Passengers in the restroom, please remain there temporarily.'
The announcement was made twice, once in Chinese and once in English.
A tense atmosphere filled the cabin. Everyone dared not make a sound, as if any sound would bring on more turbulence.
Liu Chen even saw a passenger diagonally across from him, who seemed to be Christian, muttering prayers and making gestures up, down, left, and right.
The woman sitting to Liu Chen's left quietly took out her wallet from the seat pocket. In those days, Alipay and WeChat hadn't appeared yet, and people were still accustomed to paying with cards and cash.
Liu Chen saw a small ID photo inside her wallet. The girl in the photo looked serious, even a bit blank. The woman opened her wallet and covered her chest with the side of the ID photo.
Fortunately, there was no further turbulence for the rest of the flight. Liu Chen let out a sigh of relief, and then thought of the news he'd heard about Ren Yu's cousin dying in a plane crash in his previous life.
At that time, how helpless and how much his cousin must have missed his family.
"It's okay now, it was just encountering some air currents."
Ren Yu looked at Liu Chen with concern, offering words of comfort, but her hand, tightly intertwined with Liu Chen's, showed no signs of letting go.
If it had been earlier, Liu Chen might have felt shy and blurted out some embarrassed reprimands. But at this moment, Liu Chen felt.
Being with the person he loved was already wonderful. Why should he hide his inner affection just to maintain a pure image in the other person's heart?
"I love you, Ren Yu."
-
As the plane from Beijing to C City landed and the cabin door opened, passengers hurried out, many with lingering fear on their faces. Some were calling their families to recount the terrifying moments on the plane.
Liu Chen did nothing. He and Ren Yu walked out of the airport hand in hand, with Xia Tian and Dong Tian following behind, looking bewildered.
How could the two of them have become even more intimate after a flight?
After all, their boss was a shy girl who couldn't stand public displays of affection. In the past, they always walked side by side, close, but never holding hands, let alone intertwining their fingers!
However, Liu Chen and Ren Yu finally let go of their hands when they got into the car. Liu Chen got into the car and sat in his usual spot behind the driver's seat, then turned on his phone.
With a two-and-a-half-hour flight time, plus taxiing time before and after takeoff, totaling three hours, Liu Chen's phone vibrated incessantly.
Liu Chen placed his phone face down on the armrest and waited for the vibration to stop before flipping it over. He first opened his QQ messages to see if there were any urgent matters.
As he looked, Liu Chen saw an important message. It was from two hours ago and had been buried by newer messages.
Zhang Jiawang from Los Angeles: Boss Liu, I've heard some rumors that a functional beverage company is targeting us. Should we take some preventive measures?
Functional beverage company? Oh, so it's a competitor. Such companies usually like to smear their rivals, either by questioning their financial issues or product quality.
Liu Chen pondered, his right hand tapping rhythmically on the armrest, making crisp "da da da" sounds.
As the car began to move, Liu Chen had already figured things out.
He held his small iPhone 4 with both hands and started typing.
Liu Chen: They'll probably question our product quality and financial situation. Uncle Zhang, please keep a close eye on these two aspects. As for anything else, we can only take it as it comes. After all, you can't guard against thieves all the time, can you?
Liu Chen's message was sent, and he quickly received a reply from Zhang Jiawang.
Zhang Jiawang: Okay, I will definitely inspect all our goods before shipping them. And each item will be sealed in plastic wrap. If anyone tampers with it, this plastic wrap can be used as evidence!
Both of them tacitly avoided mentioning the financial issue.
Mainly...
Liu Chen indeed wanted to use Meimei Company to convert the US dollars from overseas into RMB and bring them back to China. But right now, wasn't it... after a massive marketing campaign, the payments to various channel advertisers and bloggers flowed out like water.
At this moment, let alone transferring money back to China, Zhang Jiawang was even worried that due to the high expenses, Liu Chen might not be able to afford it one day.
Fortunately, sales in the United States had been considerable recently. Zhang Jiawang calculated his due share every day, thinking how wonderful life could be!
Thus, with Zhang Jiawang's deliberate precautions, the original plan to question the quality of Meimei Milk Chocolate was rendered useless. And as for the finances? Zhang Jiawang was the sole financial officer for the Meimei brand in the United States, and his computer had been modified by Ren Yu, making the firewall as strong as an iron barrel.
The boss of Aimili Company, upon hearing the report from his subordinate, frowned deeply. He reclined in his executive chair, smoking a cigar, taking a deep puff, and then slowly exhaling.
"Useless! Useless! You bunch of good-for-nothings! Just say you can't do it! Just say you can't!"
Aimili Company, a relatively new company in the United States in recent years, primarily dealt in functional beverages. After stubbornly collaborating with an NBA star for an advertisement, their sales had just started to pick up.
Then, they were swept away by the overwhelming advertisements for Meimei Milk Chocolate. The entire world was talking about the Meimei brand. What was even more terrifying was that this not only negated their heavily invested NBA star advertisement,
But the milk chocolate brand also produced a functional beverage called Meimei Niu. And those idiots on Twitter had created countless comparisons between Meimei Niu and Aimili Blue Water.
The scariest part was that those idiots all believed that their own Blue Water was inferior to Meimei Niu.
Of course, the boss of Aimili Company didn't pay much attention when he first heard this. Only when it became a consensus did he quickly instruct his public relations department to find a way to eradicate this competing product called Meimei Niu!
After taking a few more puffs of his cigar, the boss of Aimili Company suddenly turned his chair back to his desk and looked at the public relations manager.
"Here's what you do. Find someone. I don't care who you find. Have him drink thirty bottles of Meimei Niu a day and then undergo a check-up."
When the public relations manager heard his boss's words, he instantly understood the intention. Drinking thirty bottles of functional beverage a day was clearly seeking death!
And they could use this medical report to question the safety of Meimei Niu drinks!
After the public relations manager left, the boss of Aimili Company stubbed out his cigar.
"Hmph, a person of color, daring to make money on my turf. I'll let you know that this money isn't for people like you to earn!"